Mott MacDonald acquires design and build JV partner Bentley

Mott MacDonald has acquired its UK water industry design and build joint venture partner Bentley Holdings Ltd (including its subsidiary company JN Bentley Ltd). The move is a natural progression in the highly successful 15 year partnership between the companies through the joint venture Mott MacDonald Bentley.

JN Bentley employs over 700 people with a turnover of £120million. Over 80% of its business is derived through Mott MacDonald Bentley, set up in 1999 to operate as a wholly integrated, co-located joint venture by combining all facets of design, programme management, site investigation and construction in one organisation. The partnership was formed specifically to deliver long-term, high volume programmes of projects for the UK’s water companies throughout the industry’s rolling five-year Asset Management Plan (AMPs). Since initial contracts for AMP3, MMB has grown substantially through AMPs 4 and 5, leading to new and extended appointments as AMP6 delivery partner for Yorkshire Water, Severn Trent Water, Anglian Water, United Utilities and Welsh Water.

Both MMB and JNB have won multiple industry and client awards for safety, innovation, client satisfaction, training and employee development. MMB has earned particular recognition for its approach to driving quality and value, especially by developing the time- and cost-saving benefits of process improvement, productisation and batch procurement, and delivering solutions using its own resources. This next stage in the longstanding relationship will allow further development to enhance project delivery for clients, at the same time maintaining the shared ethos and culture that have been a hallmark of the partnership’s success since 1999.

Mott MacDonald chairman Keith Howells said: “We are immensely pleased to welcome Bentley into the Group as a natural next step for our partnership. The delivery model we have forged with our water industry clients continues to help them maximise value for their operations and their stakeholders – now we’re looking forward to using our collective ingenuity to achieve ever greater benefits across the triple bottom line of social, economic and environmental value.

Paul Bentley, managing director of JN Bentley said: “Joining Mott MacDonald will benefit our clients and also offers fantastic opportunities for the employees of both companies. The longstanding success of the joint venture is because we share the same culture and principles. Becoming part of the Mott MacDonald Group will allow us to develop further to meet the challenges we face and ensure we continue to deliver a first class service for all our new and existing clients.”